Anxiety and THC: Can Medicinal Marijuana Reduce Your Stress Levels?

Are you looking to treat your anxiety and stress with medicinal marijuana but don’t know if it’s the right option for you?  If so, we are here to take a look at medicinal marijuana and how it helps people deal with stress and anxiety so you can decide if it’s the right choice for you.

Using medicinal marijuana to treat stress and anxiety can help to relieve symptoms so you can have a normal day with no stressful moments. Keep reading below to learn all about marijuana and stress.

Medicinal Marijuana and Self Medication

Whenever you take it upon yourself to use a substance, in this case, medicinal marijuana, to help treat or cope with a medical issue it’s known as self-medication. When you self medicate you’re giving immediate relief to what symptoms or problems you’re dealing with. When it comes to using marijuana for anxiety and stress several Americans say that it’s very helpful.

What’s the Difference Between CBD and THC?

When shopping for medical marijuana you may see the acronyms CBD and THC. Before getting deep into how marijuana helps with stress relief we should clear up what CBD and THC are.

To be quick, THC is the psychoactive compound that is found within marijuana. This compound is responsible for the ‘high’ feeling that users get.

CBD is the non-psychoactive compound that is found within marijuana. CBD is known for its range of therapeutic uses and purposes.

How Can Marijuana Help Stress and Anxiety?

When it comes to using marijuana for anxiety it’s no secret that a lot of people use this plant to relieve their stress. People can use both THC and CBD to help with their stress and anxiety. Usually, users will opt for CBD if they don’t enjoy the high feeling that comes with using marijuana with THC.

When marijuana is smoked there are a few benefits. These benefits include increasing the sense of calm in the user, provided the user with better sleep, and improving the user’s relaxation.

There are many other benefits that come with using marijuana, but in regards to stress and anxiety, these are the benefits that seem to help users the most when it comes to managing it. Marijuana can help to manage the symptoms of social anxiety, sleep disruptions related to anxiety, agoraphobia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), phobias, and even panic disorders.

We do want to point out that whatever you decide to use, THC or CBD, will help to relieve these symptoms. Some studies do suggest that CBD is great for helping with social anxiety and THC may help with anxiety disorders in lower amounts than CBD.

We also want to note that this isn’t a cure-all for anxiety. It can help to manage the symptoms of stress you may have daily but it will not cure anxiety disorders.

Can the Use of Marijuana Hurt Stress and Anxiety?

With anything that has positives effects, there are bound to be some downsides. This is even true when it comes to marijuana.

Marijuana helps some people deal with and manage their anxiety, but this doesn’t mean it helps all people do so. For some, it can have the opposite effect and make their anxiety worse.

There are even some users that didn’t notice a change in their symptoms. Meaning that marijuana didn’t help or hurt their anxiety in any way.

When it comes to this variation in users THC is to blame. If there are high levels of this psychoactive compound it can help to increase anxiety in an individual. The side effects of increased anxiety after using marijuana are things such as racing thoughts or sped up the heart rate.

Another downside that can come with using marijuana to treat anxiety is that it doesn’t have a long-lasting effect. When marijuana is compared to things such as medications that are prescribed to treat anxiety disorders its effect is much shorter than medication. 

This is because the medication is usually released slowly into your body throughout the day. When it comes to marijuana you will need to take a couple of doses throughout the day to still gain its effects. Overall, marijuana isn’t looked at as a long term treatment option for stress and anxiety.

Other Things to Consider

After reading about the upsides and few downsides that come with using marijuana for anxiety and stress it may be a no-brainer that you will use marijuana to self-medicate. Before doing so, there are a few more things you should consider.

We understand that using marijuana is a way to avoid the nasty side effects of prescription drugs, but this doesn’t mean that there are other side effects of marijuana. Marijuana can increase your sweat production, provide issues with concentration, provide issues with short-term memory, paranoia, changes in mood, confusion, hallucinations, and even lack of motivation.

Keeping these side effects in mind is important before you self-medicate for your anxiety. This will help you to determine in marijuana is the best decision for you and your symptoms.

Now You Know About Medicinal Marijuana and Anxiety

We have given you a guide on how medicinal marijuana can help with anxiety and stress. You now know how medicinal marijuana will help relieve the symptoms of stress and anxiety and even what side effects can come with using marijuana. 

We have also looked at what CBD and THC are and how both of them can help to effectively manage your anxiety. For more medical tips and information be sure to check out the rest of our website.